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Grateful for who we have

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Contributed by: Jared Keller on 4/22/2008

We continue to push along toward our trip to China, and our second adoption. We're pretty typical for a family waiting to adopt, as we seem trapped in alternating patterns of frantic activity, and excruciating inertia.

With all of the focus on the new little guy, it becomes easy to gloss over what a spectacular little kid we've already got living under our roof. She's four, she's sassy, and she's all over the place.

As friends of ours have noticed, "she's very social," and "she's got a big personality". These, of course, are simply diplomatic ways of saying that she likes to talk, and that her volume knob goes to eleven.

We wouldn't have it any other way.

The Girl is just about as stereotypically girly as they come; she's all about her My Little Ponies, and would rather have me sit and play Polly Pocket with her than do just about anything. Anything but watching Star Wars. And there, of course, lies the inherent awesomeocity of this kid. She's so completely comfortable in her own skin - so content with the things that make her tick - that you can't help but toss away any shred of self-consciousness (or dignity) that may prevent you from, say, cranking up the stereo, and dancing around the living room like a Tased Elaine Benes.

If she could, she would change clothes approximately every 34 seconds. When she's told that such activity isn't actually allowed, she settles on finding the single most unique combination of clothes that one could possibly dream up. Yesterday's look, for example? Beach shirt, cowgirl skirt, and a pair of tights that looked remarkably like a TV test pattern.

She was totally comfortable.

She's pretty amazing, this little girl. She's smart, she's funny, she's perhaps the single most compassionate and empathetic person I know, and to top it all off, she's forgiving. In those subpar parental moments - when I sit down, and realize that I've been a total jerk to my own kid - she responds with an assurance of forgiveness, and a kiss.There's little more soothing than a kiss on the cheek from a four year-old, by the way.

So, though we're more desperate by the day to go bring our little guy home from China, I'd hasten to add that he's got a great big sister waiting for him. He's gonna have to stay away from her Polly Pockets, though. Mucho wrath waiting there, kid.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Jared Keller

Littleton

Jared Keller has posted 465 stories and 64 comments since joining on 12/1/2005. Jared Keller 's average story rating is 4.86.

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